Tips from others
From: Rodney Basler
Subject: FL: Lessons Learned from the Cabaret
Hello Everyone,
This year I had the extreme pleasure of working on the makeup crew for the Cabaret at CF11. I had a tiny bit of previous experience with makeup - I used to paint historical and fantasy miniatures, and did two makeup jobs the night before. The Cabaret, however, was a case of diving into the deep end with airbrush in paw. I learned a great deal - in part by watching the more experienced artists, but also in large part by seeing my mistakes. I have collected a number of these ideas and observations and wrote them down in no particular order. Boogi and the other list members were kind enough to look them over and make comments. This edited list is the result.
(note: B> - Boogi's comments, E> - Ermine's comments, T> - mine)
Some of them deal with the behavior of the “paint” that we were using - it is a water-based makeup formulated for airbrushing that is made by the Michael Davy Studio that Koshaw purchased. Others are more general, but deal with the need to do a large number of performers in a limited amount of time.
A) SAFETY
While not all of these became an issue during the Cabaret, I have been doing a little reading, and found a few more 'gotchas' that are important to keep in mind.
1) GET A DUST MASK, and not one of those cheesy blue things! I don't care how non-toxic that paint is supposed to be, breathing it in that concentration for that long was a baaad thing - I was hawking up white paint for the rest of the con. Spray the body first and get the dancer to wear a mask while doing so; then have her take it off when painting the face. If the room has utterly fantastic cross ventilation, you can let it slide, but otherwise… Those blue paint masks can't seal against my face (I have a beard) and only serve to divert my breath so as to fog up my glasses. A mask that absorbs organic vapors might be good because the isopropanol can't be too healthy either, but those masks tend to be heavier and would be harder on the back of the neck. Talc, too, is very bad for the lungs, so be careful of the powder.
2) Air Pressure - If the air pressure is too high, you can actually inject the paint into the model's skin. Keep the air pressure in the brushes to no more than 30 psi. You can also kink the hose slightly to control the flow/pressure when working around the model's eyes.
3) Remember, depending on the make and model of the airbrush, you might have an 1/8th of an inch or more of very sharp needle sticking out of the nozzle of the brush - Don't jab the model or yourself.
B) COMFORT
In some ways, this can also blend into the 'Safety' category. A friend of mine recently worked at a face-painting booth for a fund-raising fair at her daughter's school. She painted for nearly 12 hours with her hands raised - she is still undergoing physical therapy for the pinched nerves and muscle knots.
4) Try to get a chair for the models to sit in, and keep it far enough away from the wall that you can easily get around it. Otherwise, it can get very cramped trying to get at the right side of their face. Try to find a chair that is the right height for you to comfortably work. Note that the 'right height' will vary depending on both your height and the height of the model. I'm nearly a foot taller than the shortest of the artists, and there is probably an even greater difference between two of the dancers, Amber and MiShi.
5) It might even be possible to get a swiveling barstool cheap from an unfinished or used furniture store.
6) Kneepads - Even if you manage to get the perfect chair, you are going to be spending a lot of time on the floor, and it begins to hurt after five hours.
7) Remember to drink. I was very dehydrated by the end of the night. Gatoraide is your friend.
8) Keep a couple of those Tiger's Milk or energy bars in your pocket, because you _know_ that there will be no time to eat.
C) CLEANLINESS AND CONVENIENCE
This is actually very important. There is a lot of time pressure to the show, and the less time spent looking for things and tripping over the mess, the better. It also makes for a more pleasant and professional work environment. If you are calm and seem to know what you are doing, it will help the dancer relax, which makes everyone's job easier.
9) A smock would be nice; something to keep the worst of the makeup off the clothes and to have a couple of extra pockets. The sleeves should be elbow-length only, since the forearm is too handy a test-palette for the airbrush.
10) If using a drop cloth over a chair, put a towel over the drop cloth - it keeps the sweating down and keeps the makeup from sticking to the plastic…and the plastic from sticking to the dancer…eeeeewwww.
11) While we are at it, snag a few extra towels or a smock to cover the clothing/costumes of the performers that are not getting a full body job.
12) Get or rig a big bottle with a hole for the airbrush nozzle and a filter to catch the spray - I think that Testor's makes one for their Aztek series of brush. Iwata makes a larger model that fits into a trash pail to catch the collected paint. One artist I know sprays into a brown paper bag; when it gets sodden, he throws it away and uses a new one. Spraying into an empty water bottle really sped up the cleaning process and kept down the number of soggy cleaning rags.
13) Speaking of cleaning rags, we needed more of them…keep the roll of paper towels in the room. Better yet, keep two. One is going to migrate into the finishing room.
B: Why two? Why not an entire 6- or 8-pack? Stego brought along two
3-packs, and by the time the con was over, the first 3-pack was
gone. I've got one of the rolls with me. I've even got a roll that found
its way to my car, when I was doing a repair job on it.
B:Gotta mention this in my panels also, though you all saw it as part of
the entire thing, when I used a few.
14) Speaking of _soggy_ cleaning rags, make sure there is a trash pail within easy tossing distance of the chair and the worktable. That will help to keep down the clutter and keep it from getting underfoot. Whoever cleaned up the spraybooth during the show, Thank You!
T: Found out it was Koshaw….Thanks, Chuck!
15) Tape down the corners of the drop cloth on the floor. The thing crumples up, exposes more floor, and makes all sorts of handy pockets that catch and hide small things - usually when you are desperately trying to find said small thing.
B: Duct tape! The tape of the gods! [bow bow bow] You will need this stuff.
16) Keep the inevitable Styrofoam cups half-filled with drinking water out of the spray booth. After about five seconds, the water is contaminated with paint, and the blasted things are always under foot… and they break …and spill.
D) TECHNIQUE 17) Use a foundation makeup to cover up any undesirable tattoos or bodymarks.
18) If at all possible, try to encourage the performers to take a shower before getting sprayed. It is probably healthier not to have the pores all clogged up before you plug them up further, and by cleaning off the excess oil from the skin, the paint seems to adhere better. It might also help them relax.
E: Something to help with the pore-clogging problem: Dancers, after getting
showered, apply a thin layer of noxema or cold-cream (I prefer noxema if
there's no skin allergies involved). This way, when it's time to remove
the body paint, it'll come right off with little residue and won't strip
the skin of its oils.
T: This is something that is going to require a bit of experimentation. We
have a trade-off between wanting to make the paint/makeup easy to come
off after the show, and KEEPING it from coming off during the show.
I have read the cold cream/Noxema suggestion in several books on stage
makeup, and have heard a suggestion about a product called “Liquid
Glove”. Nine months and counting…so much to try, so little time :o)
19) Keep the paint coats as light as possible while still providing the necessary coverage; if it gets too thick, it rapidly begins to flake.
B: Flake, and not only that, but also smear off. Doing a pat/smear motion
will give you what you want.
T: Since I was using an airbrush, I found that I got the most even coat by
using a combination of back-and-forth strokes (easing off the needle at
the ends of the stroke) and circular patterns
T: Further experimentation leads me to conclude that the best results are
obtained by keeping the brush AWAY from the model so the mist has a
chance to partially dry before it hits the skin and keeps wet pools from
forming. These are blotchy, take forever to dry, and inevitably
smear/peel/flake.
20) Powder, powder, powder! Quickly powder those portions of the body that are going to press together, since that will make the makeup smear and flake. Under the chin, under the breasts, between the legs, the eyelids, the flanks under the arms, the butt (sitting in a chair…) Take a moment to watch the model as he/she moves and sits down - where does the skin crease?
B: Two thumbs up on this one. This is one of the most important. I even
demoed this at the workshop, showing the importance of this. You've
even noticed that it will lighten the makeup.
T: Yes, it was quite surprising how much the powder lightened the makeup.
When mixing the colors, you have to take into account the effects not
only of the powder, but of the stage lights, too.
E: See if we can't get a line on the *really big* makeup puffs and large
containers of Translucent Powder… I know they exist to handle just
this problem, and true translucent powder doesn't fade the colors out
like a standard talcum does. Having us non-makeuping stage crew help
powder the dancers should help speed up the time, too!
T: Cool! Production line powdering!
B: The large containers of Translucent Powders can either be found at the
makeup/costume shop or via mailorder. I use Neutral Set to set my
makeup, and it softens and lightens it up some. I haven't tried this,
but there's also beige and other color powders. This was demoed at the
makeup panel I had, and a darker brown was lightened a bit.
B: What were the primary colors of the Cabaret dancers? Neutral set would
have done nicely with the whites, though if I'm thinking right, and
looking right, the topaz, sienna, or coco tan (from the Ben Nye
catalog) could have given some of the actors an even better look.
B: I get my powder puffs in most any store's makeup department. Just how
big do you want? The puffs I use, and I have 3-4, are about 3 inches
wide. I've seen some 5 inch ones somewhere, but stay with the ones you
can find in the makeup departments. Costume shops can overprice
them. The nice thing is that you can clean them up using woolite in a
bathroom/hand sink. Don't forget to pick up powder brushes, for brushing
off excess powder.
T: I just picked up some 5“ velour puffs from Burmann Industries. They
were only about $2.50 apiece, which is comparable to the makeup
counter in the supermarket and they work great! I'll try to remember
to get a couple more before the next CF.
21) If a performer wants to use a particular brand of makeup, due to allergies or to personal preference, try to find out about it in advance and get a hold of some to experiment with. The less 'trial-and-terror' that has to be done on the night of the performance with the clock ticking down, the better. Also, have her buy about twice as much of the base color as she thinks she will need.
22) REMEMBER - back of neck…behind the ears…under the chin… If I am not the one applying the basecoat, I HAVE to remember to verify that those places have been sprayed - that spot behind Tekara's right ear was like a painful, glaring searchlight to me.
E) STYLE
23) Big, big, big decision here - Style: Do I go for a realistic look, or a more stylized one? For example, most of the drawings the artists like Terrie Smith and Michelle Light tend to make the dorsal shade of the Snow Leopard rather grayer and darker than in real life. Do I go for what fans expect, or for RL? Would exaggerating the shading look better on stage at a distance and under the lights?
24) Bigger brushes - big brushes encourage big details, and they can be seen better from the audience. I made Tekara's face markings too damn tiny and they washed right out under the lights. (I raided my miniatures brushes right before the con and the sizes ranged from a 10/0 to a 3, which are nearly useless if the face you are painting is not the size of a garbanzo bean)
B: This is most correct. I've had theatre experience, and have been on all
sides of the stage, including on. Make your skin seem darker than it
really is, otherwise the lights will wash you right out. My Mutant Cat's
makeup wasn't washed out, since I already used dark makeup, and
anticipated being on stage. On the stage, things have to be bigger than
in real life. You have Mr. Jackson with the poor vision in the upper
seats, and you want to be able to be seen by even him.
E: In general, bigger and darker markings survive stage lights and video
cameras. You can make them more abstract than real without going too
cartoony.
E: If I remember right, “Cats” style makeup follows the 3/10/25 rule (for
those who don't know, that's the distance in feet the audience is likely
to see the work… the shorter the distance, the greater need for
accuracy and fine detail). If we hold to a 10-foot ruler, you can get
away with more in the way of abstract measurements of spots, for
example. (I believe CATS uses the 10-foot rather than the standard
Broadway 25-foot measure because they expect to jump into the crowd and
interract).
25) Use a nice dark color to outline the eyelids, and make the line thick enough to be seen from a distance - much of the expressiveness of the eyes is in the lids; the rest is in the eyebrows (most kitties don't have eyebrows, though…gotta think about that one. This probably falls under the heading of Question #23. How do the biggie artists draw 'morphic cats? -time to hit the Little Paw collections again “Honest, honey, this is just research” 
B: Think CATS. Visit a local university for some more tips. Look closely at
some of the CATS performers. Remind me when I get home, to pass on to
you a URL related to CATS style makeup. I get home the evening of the
16th, as I'm staying with some relatives/family til then. I'm from
Kentucky.
B: Also visit a local costume shop, as they will have some things that will
help you out, including something from Mehron, that shows how to make
your own cat/animal makeup. I should have shown this during the
workshop.
T: As I said - Question #23. CATS uses a very, very stylized look to the
facial makeup that is great for CATS, but I am leaning more toward a
more 'realistic' look in my own work. However, any information is
useful; the more the better. While I would not want to duplicate the
CATS style exactly, as a stage/dance show it deals with the problem of
conveying a non-human face from a distance and would be a useful source
of inspiration. Please, send away
26) Remember the basic rule of painting white uniforms on miniature figures and apply it to white kitties: Don't use pure white as your base - you can't highlight. Use a very light gray, you can shade up and down from there. I think that a gray would probably cover better anyway.
B: Not only that, but pure white can be washed out by the bright white
lights. It will, and you're correct on that.
27) Increase the morgue file - add: fox, raccoon, skunk, domestic cats, more species of big cat. What else? Deer? Rabbit? Panda? Try to find out what animals are most popular with the dancers. Look for pics from all angles. For example - I just found out that tigers have stripes on their belly, too. (But that clean, white belly looks so inviting - another example of the style question)
28) If the performer wants their hair colored, forget about subtlety - the raccoon-striping on the Cabaret MC almost totally disappeared.
B: Might want to try teasing their hair out, and apply haircolor then. I
did this for a Mardi Gras makeup job, and I grew my hair a little longer
for that. I had half green, half gold, and then hairsprayed it up. That
was one rather wild hair look, though I usually prefer short hair.
29) Plan ahead as much as possible - try to determine ahead of time how big the stripes/rosettes should be, perhaps even have a few 'rosettes' cut from cardstock - not as a mask, but as a visual guide; hold them up to the performer before spraying. It is too easy for me to make them small.
F) EQUIPMENT AND OTHER NIFTY THINGS TO HAVE HANDY
30) Speaking of airbrush masks - cut a couple of long masks with a straight and a slightly curved deckled edge and use it to create the border between the white underbelly and gray fur of the flanks. Make the zigzag cuts deep to simulate the thick fur.
31) Use an airbrush with a siphon-feed. That way the bottles of color can be changed quickly, and a couple of bottles of cleaning fluid can be kept handy to flush out the brush without having to carefully empty the remaining paint. At the price of that paint, it would be saving money, too.
T: I have since tried this out - it does work well, but _how_ well depends
on the type of paint being used.
32) Another thought about airbrush masks - The subtle scale-effect that Edward and I achieved with that dragon was completely lost when on stage. Perhaps a bolder scale pattern using a different type of mask would look better from a distance. Frustrating, because close up the effect was simply amazing. Thanks Ed!
33) The prosthetic on Amber's (the tiger) face looked great - can we get others, too? Do a 'generic' face and make up some slushcasts from it?
34) The 'butt pad' prosthetic used to keep the tail attached worked very well, but simply gluing the tail onto the pad kind of spoiled the effect, at least from close up. We should think of a better-looking way to attach the fabric portion of the tail to the foam latex.
35) Try to think of some way to put up several pics from the morgue file at once so they can be easily referenced. Turning the pages by hand got makeup smeared all over the sheet protectors (thank the gods for sheet protectors, by the way) Perhaps some sort of bulletin board or easel might work.
36) Keep a bunch of those spring-loaded hair clips handy, and maybe some disposable hair-covers/shower caps, too. Something to keep the overspray out of the dancer's hair.
37) Keep a supply of big paperclips on the worktable. This is for poking open the squirt nozzle of the paint bottles. They kept plugging up, and the one paperclip I had was always wandering into a wrinkle of the drop cloth. (see #15 above)
B: Sew a magnet or just drop a small magnet in a smock or related pocket,
in a shirt… Then just thunk the thing there, and it's stuck for
awhile. But, keep your room keys (like the hotel keys we used) away. I
made the mistake once to put a refrigerator magnet near it, at
Millennicon, two weeks before CF.
T: I work around computers and have this deep-seated twitchiness about
magnetic objects. This might be a little elaborate, but I was thinking
of getting one of those tiny dial thermometers that chefs use now - the
sort that come in a small plastic tube with a shirt clip. The
thermometer can be used for something else, but the tube and clip can be
used to carry an old airbrush needle in a bit of cork or rubber
stopper. It would be instantly handy, non-magnetic, and could even be
used for hand-to-gland combat in an emergency
38) Never underestimate the usefulness of a good Swiss-Army knife and a pair of pliers.
B: You might want to add on EMT scissors, with a blunt end. It's part of my kit.
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